Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum

Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: badgermark on March 13, 2008, 05:55:44 PM

Title: Distortion pedals, halp!
Post by: badgermark on March 13, 2008, 05:55:44 PM
Righty so I love distortion, it's my number one favourite effect. Right now I have a vintage big muff clone and I loves it to bits. Shame it's not tight or smooth. Also have a MI audio crunch box, which I'm looking to replace, as I don't want that mid humped tone that the CB does so well.

So what I'm looking for it a smooth, tight distortion, that sounds BIG. Needs to be able to palm muted. I'm using a Tiny Terror set to clean, and need something meaty to kick on when the mood takes me. Would ideally like something from the BYOC range, so been thinking of their uber-versatile Rat clone. Or is there anything else out there that will help me melt faces, tone wise?
Title: Distortion pedals, halp!
Post by: Dakine on March 13, 2008, 06:07:15 PM
having one made right now that will do all of above and more  :twisted:
Title: Distortion pedals, halp!
Post by: maverickf1jockey on March 13, 2008, 06:27:59 PM
Get a bit of dirt at the point where you have full volume on your guitar and then kick in a maxed-out BOSS SD-1.
Works for me.
Title: Distortion pedals, halp!
Post by: opprobrium_9 on March 13, 2008, 06:39:38 PM
what's BYOC :?:
Title: Distortion pedals, halp!
Post by: Lazy_McDoesnothing on March 13, 2008, 06:43:21 PM
http://www.buildyourownclone.com

I don't know if you've heard of the Jekyll & Hyde pedal or not but I have one on the way and I'll tell you what I think of it when I get it.  People seem to rate it high.  It's has an overdrive that's just like an 808 on one side and a full on distortion on the other side.
Title: Distortion pedals, halp!
Post by: WezV on March 13, 2008, 06:45:55 PM
i have the BYOC large beaver and the tribooster - between the two of them i can get a hell of a range of distortion sounds out of my little rock
Title: Distortion pedals, halp!
Post by: kellar on March 13, 2008, 07:18:15 PM
The Jekyll and Hyde is an excellent pedal, albeit a bit noisy. I actually like the Route 66 a bit better, more of an overdrive than a distortion though.
Fuzz pedals quite frankly are meant to be cranked. I could never get a decent tone out of my vintage Big Muff at lower levels. In order to get that creamy sustain and drive it needs to be driven.
Don't know what kind of music/sound you are aiming for, but as stated above, get your amp to the point where it is breaking up and then slam on the DS-1 (that's what I use), does the trick.  :wink:
Title: Distortion pedals, halp!
Post by: HTH AMPS on March 13, 2008, 09:57:16 PM
how about using an EQ pedal with the crunchbox to get rid of the mid hump?

the J&H is just a TS-808 and a Shredmaster in the same box.

my modded SD-1 does palm muted stuff very well and is cheap as chips.

maybe try one of the Blackstar pedals - they seem to have a very good rep.
Title: Distortion pedals, halp!
Post by: badgermark on March 13, 2008, 10:09:44 PM
I'll get myself around some shops soon then. Looking for this kind of tone I think, meaty yet defined. The Movielife, Jamestown (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9F6RtZdsdU)
Title: Distortion pedals, halp!
Post by: Daniel G on March 14, 2008, 04:50:19 AM
That sounds a bit like what my old Marshall Shredmaster was like.
Too bad they don't make those anymore, but i've heard the BYOC shredder does the job just as well.
Title: Re: Distortion pedals, halp!
Post by: hamfist on March 14, 2008, 07:16:43 AM
Quote from: badgermark
Righty so I love distortion, it's my number one favourite effect. Right now I have a vintage big muff clone and I loves it to bits. Shame it's not tight or smooth. Also have a MI audio crunch box, which I'm looking to replace, as I don't want that mid humped tone that the CB does so well.


Lol, the CB is anything but mid humped. It's quite a mid-scooped pedal really.
  But then I listen to your link for the type of tone you're looking for, and it appears you really want NO mids whatsoever.

You'll need something with a mids control that you can turn to zero.
  I'd be surprised if you couldn't find one of the Blackstar pedals that did exactly what you want. They're pretty widely available now, try and get to audition them withh your amp somewhere.
  HtH suggested getting an EQ pedal, which I think is also a good idea, and may help you transform your CB into the tone of your liking. A load of very mid-scooped players are fairly dependant on EQ pedals for their sound.
  Sounds to me like you're maybe not greatly experienced at playing loud in a band setting (please forgive me if I'm wrong). Be very aware that when you cut out too many mids, you will be utterly lost in the real life situation of a band.
Title: Re: Distortion pedals, halp!
Post by: badgermark on March 14, 2008, 08:57:22 AM
Quote from: hamfist
Quote from: badgermark
Righty so I love distortion, it's my number one favourite effect. Right now I have a vintage big muff clone and I loves it to bits. Shame it's not tight or smooth. Also have a MI audio crunch box, which I'm looking to replace, as I don't want that mid humped tone that the CB does so well.


Lol, the CB is anything but mid humped. It's quite a mid-scooped pedal really.
  But then I listen to your link for the type of tone you're looking for, and it appears you really want NO mids whatsoever.

You'll need something with a mids control that you can turn to zero.
  I'd be surprised if you couldn't find one of the Blackstar pedals that did exactly what you want. They're pretty widely available now, try and get to audition them withh your amp somewhere.
  HtH suggested getting an EQ pedal, which I think is also a good idea, and may help you transform your CB into the tone of your liking. A load of very mid-scooped players are fairly dependant on EQ pedals for their sound.
  Sounds to me like you're maybe not greatly experienced at playing loud in a band setting (please forgive me if I'm wrong). Be very aware that when you cut out too many mids, you will be utterly lost in the real life situation of a band.


How can I be mad at you when you're being so nice... The CB is excellent for playing in a loud band cos it cuts through so well. That's why I'm wanting a tone that's as thick as a Muff, but can cut through. I'll keep my eyes open for the Blackstar pedals, look interesting...
Title: Distortion pedals, halp!
Post by: noodleplugerine on March 14, 2008, 09:07:28 AM
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3IZAogB4phA

Pretty good presentation of the CB.
Title: Re: Distortion pedals, halp!
Post by: hamfist on March 14, 2008, 09:15:17 AM
Quote from: badgermark

How can I be mad at you when you're being so nice... The CB is excellent for playing in a loud band cos it cuts through so well. That's why I'm wanting a tone that's as thick as a Muff, but can cut through. I'll keep my eyes open for the Blackstar pedals, look interesting...


If you wanna be mad at me, go ahead. People get mad at me all the time. I'm used to it !  8)

Another pedal you might want to take a look at is the Subdecay Blackstar (not related to the other Blackstar pedals at all).
You can get them in the UK here - http://vintageandrareguitars.com/web/our-catalogue/Effects/Subdecay/item/2405

Subdecay website (including clips) here - http://www.subdecay.com/bs.htm

They are very well thought of in the States.
Title: Distortion pedals, halp!
Post by: sambo on March 14, 2008, 09:45:53 AM
If you want Muff thickness whilst still retaining cut, why not buy a muff and one of those Zvex 'Machine' pedals? (Although that would cost you £250+ probably :lol:)

http://youtube.com/watch?v=poAMUP5v7yM


I love it.
Title: Distortion pedals, halp!
Post by: HTH AMPS on March 14, 2008, 11:34:59 AM
why not mod the Muff, or send it to me and I'll mod it for you.
Title: Distortion pedals, halp!
Post by: badgermark on March 14, 2008, 03:01:22 PM
Quote from: HEAVIER THAN HELL
why not mod the Muff, or send it to me and I'll mod it for you.


What would you have to do to the Muff to give it more cut in a live situation? I'm never used it with the band yet, but playing along with a cd (loudly....) it just disappears. It's a triangle era Muff from BYOC by the way.
Title: Distortion pedals, halp!
Post by: silentrage on March 14, 2008, 03:44:45 PM
It sounds like there's some disagreement on whether your muff pedal is mid-humped or mid-scooped?

If your guitar is getting lost in the mix then the most common explaination (At least to me) is that it doesn't have enough mids. Your low and low-mid frequencies will get mixed in with the floor drum and bass guitar, and your high frequencies will get mixed in with the hi-hat, crash, etc etc.
The point is in a usual band mix the most amount of sonic frequences left unused is the mids, and that's how a guitar cuts through, by having lots of mids.

I think I have that right as I just read some papers written by a prof from a well-known music institution, hope that helps somehow.

If I were you I'd try to borrow a EQ pedal and see if it could remedy your problem.
Title: Distortion pedals, halp!
Post by: badgermark on March 14, 2008, 03:50:05 PM
Yeah the Muff is mid-scooped. Sounds awesome by itself, or when it comes to single note lines, but with big chords it disappears when playing with a band. The Crunch Box on the other hand (which i also own) is too middy, not thick enough for what I'm looking for. Does sound decent with a band though. Really looking for some middle ground between the two.
Title: Distortion pedals
Post by: ToonLP on March 21, 2008, 08:08:40 PM
Try Blackstar HT-Dual pedal and/or Fulltone OCD.

Fulltone more towards overdrive rather than all out distortion but awesome with 100% true bypass and NO noise.
Title: Distortion pedals, halp!
Post by: HTH AMPS on March 21, 2008, 08:23:12 PM
Quote from: badgermark
Quote from: HEAVIER THAN HELL
why not mod the Muff, or send it to me and I'll mod it for you.


What would you have to do to the Muff to give it more cut in a live situation? I'm never used it with the band yet, but playing along with a cd (loudly....) it just disappears. It's a triangle era Muff from BYOC by the way.


I'd remove some of the bass since there's SO much bass in that pedal.  I'd also fiddle with the tonestack to get rid of that mid-scoop.
Title: Distortion pedals, halp!
Post by: indysmith on March 21, 2008, 10:07:58 PM
OMG The Movielife! I remember those guys. They were emo before it was on MTV. My friend actually didn't speak for a week when they broke up.
Title: Distortion pedals, halp!
Post by: badgermark on March 21, 2008, 10:17:08 PM
i just really got into them, good stuff.

Basically i'm after a high gain 'modern' tone from a pedal. Gonna try out some pedals soon i think. been thinking about modding the muff to give it some more mids, just dont want to waste it's big thick sound though...

doubt i'll ever be happy though, the quest contiunes  :oops:
Title: Distortion pedals, halp!
Post by: WestcoastCanadianPete on March 21, 2008, 10:34:00 PM
Check out the Zvex Box of Metal.
Title: Distortion pedals, halp!
Post by: Twinfan on March 22, 2008, 09:23:55 AM
E-H Metal Muff could be what you want?
Title: Distortion pedals, halp!
Post by: badgermark on March 22, 2008, 04:34:50 PM
Quote from: Twinfan
E-H Metal Muff could be what you want?


Don't remember being too impressed by the metal muff, then again it was tested through a solid state marshall jobbie. it's been added to the list anyway.
Title: Distortion pedals, halp!
Post by: Nige666 on March 23, 2008, 01:54:35 PM
Line 6 Uber Metal, it's great! It has 3 tones, 2 noise gates, drive, level, mid scoop, and low, mid and high.

http://line6.com/tonecore/uberMetal.html
Title: Distortion pedals, halp!
Post by: AJDS on March 23, 2008, 09:22:53 PM
Have you tried the robert keeley modified rat? If you push it, it should do what you want pretty well.